Ever thought about what it would be like to be a mother of three at the age of 17? Welcome to the life of VHS senior Alyssa Lipesky, a self-proclaimed “bunny mom.”

Alyssa got her first lop-breed bunny, Marshmallow, on March 13, 2020. Not long after, Marshmallow adopted the role of older brother to Clover, Alyssa’s second bunny. Alyssa advises that bunnies always be purchased in pairs because they get very lonely. But so much for pairs, because a little over a year later, Ruby joined the Lipesky Bunny clan.

“You’re paying a lot of money for a furry little ball that bites through everything” is how Alyssa describes the bunny-owner experience. Alyssa takes a deep breath as she begins to recall her daily care plan for the “bons” (as she calls them) – “Before I go to school, I make sure they always have water and hay. When I come home from rehearsal around 5pm, I repeat the process, replenishing whatever they ate from before. At night time, they eat their big meal of the day, which is salad, they love salad!”

Alyssa reflects on how virtual school was with her bunnies – she feels so thankful to have had them there with her during the stressful moments in class.

“That was one of the highlights of virtual learning for me. The whole at-home school structure was really stress inducing for me, so having my bunnies there with me made it a whole lot better.” Some of her favorite memories from last school year include times she brought her bunnies on camera to show her teachers. Mr. Lennon even was shocked to see the three furry friends on camera – misidentifying them as dogs at first! Now that in-person schooling is back in full swing, Alyssa has had a harder time finding the time to care for her bunnies. While her life may be ten times busier as Alyssa juggles school, her job, and extracurriculars, she never lets a day go by without going through her daily bunny care routine. 

The pet-owning experience is something that Alyssa truly loves, and feels that children should be raised with pets, as they teach lots of valuable lessons that some parents cannot. “Having three bunnies has definitely made me a lot more responsible. I learned so much about care-taking from these three, and it feels nice to have something to care for.” 

Alyssa smiles as she recalls some of her favorite bunny facts. She says that a common misconception is that bunnies are crazy for carrots. “While they do enjoy carrots, I find that my bunnies are far crazier for bananas instead!”

Alyssa advises anyone interested in becoming a bunny owner to make sure they are fully-equipped for the responsibilities that come with them. Alyssa warns that the process of “bonding” the bunnies, or getting two or more bunnies to be calm in each other’s presence, is extremely stressful and not easy, but of course, totally worth it. “They’re like small furry children! And if you think that’s something you aren’t ready to handle, go buy a fish!”